Friday, March 29, 2013

Recipe: Boeuf Bourguignon (Delia Smith)

Beef bourguignon (boeuf à la Bourguignonne) is a classic traditional French recipe which originated from the Burgundy region in France. This is why it is also sometimes called beef Burgundy and traditionally, it is made using Burgundy wine. The beef is braised for many hours (in this recipe for a total of 3 hours) with garlic, onions and herbs as well as bacon, shallots (pearl onions) and mushrooms added towards the end of cooking.

Beef Burguignon, served like a steak

The slow cooking makes the gelatinous connective tissue meat melt-in-the-mouth


For this stew, I have used my favorite braising cut - the Black Angus oyster blade. The meat is first browned in hot oil  to lock the juices in and give the stew a richer flavour. The slow cooking also makes the meat melt-in-the-mouth, especially the gelatinous connective tissue that runs through it. Although the recipe is quite time consuming, very little time has to be spent in the kitchen for this stew. Instead of cutting the meat into small pieces, I decided to leave some in large chunks as it looks more elegant when served, almost like eating a steak! The sauce is rich and very flavorful and I really liked the addition of shallots as it has a lovely sweetness.


A hearty stew


I made quite a large portion, which was enough for 2 meals (or 6-7 pax in total). I found that the flavour improved overnight. The traditional way of serving beef burguignon is with potatoes boulangere, however I couldn't make both simultaneously in the same oven so I opted to serve it with colcannon potatoes instead. We really enjoyed this stew, and I wouldn't mind making this again although it takes quite a bit of time.

Very rich, flavorful sauce

Beef bourguignon served with Irish colcannon potatoes



Boeuf Bourguignon 
Recipe adapted from Delia Smith
Preparation time: 30 minues
Cooking time: 3 hours
Serves 6-7

Ingredients
1kg braising steak cut into 2 inch (5 cm) squares
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, sliced
1 heaped tablespoon plain flour
450ml red Burgundy or other red wine
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 sprigs fresh thyme or 1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 bay leaf
350g shallots, whole
150g smoked or unsmoked streaky bacon, cut into cubes
150g mushrooms, sliced (I used a mixof grey oyster mushrooms, porcini and shitake)
Salt and freshly milled black pepper


1. You can either cut the braising steak into large chunks (5cmx 5cm) or leave it whole (like a 2" steak).

2. Preheat oven to 140°C.

3. In a casserole or pan, heat  2 tablespoons of the oil over high heat and sear the beef, a few pieces at a time, to a rich, dark brown on all sides. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the browned meat to a plate.

4. Add the sliced onion to the casserole and cook for 3 minutes, until softened. Return the meat to the casserole or pan and sprinkle in the flour, stirring round to soak up all the juices. Then gradually pour in the
Burgundy, again stirring all the time. Add the chopped garlic, herbs and seasoning, put the lid on and cook very gently on top of the stove on a very low heat or transfer to the oven – either way it will take 2 hours.

5. Just before the 2 hours is up,  fry the shallots and bacon with 1 tbsp oil for 2 minutes to colour them lightly. Add to the casserole, together with the mushrooms, then put the lid on and cook for a further hour. Serve with the French accompaniment of potatoes boulangères and green salad , or tiny new potatoes and ratatouille or mashed potatoes like I did.









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I am submitting this to the "Cook Like Delia Smith" bloghop which I am co-hosting with Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids and Mich of Piece of Cake. To join, simply cook or bake any recipe from any Delia Smith websites or cookbooks and blog hop with us for the whole month of March 2013.

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30 comments:

  1. I don't really like beef, but I did try a bit of beef burguignon during our last trip. The taste actually quite nice and Mr LFB loved that. :)

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    1. Yea I love the sauce, it's very rich. And the beef (depending on the cut) can be very tender and flavorful.

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  2. Looks indeed very delicious; it just makes me drool looking at the photos. I loves the shallots in whole. Yum.

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    Replies
    1. I think I shd add more shallots next time.. it's so good in this stew!

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  3. the addition of mushroom make it looks like Chinese dish :)

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    Replies
    1. Haha the Shitake mushrooms is my own addition, can use button mushrooms instead. :P

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  4. Wow, how nice to have it within the comforts of home. Must be bursting with flavors with the ingredients and many hours of braising!

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    Replies
    1. Ah yes, lots of braising time required but it was worth it. Very delicious stew!

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  5. Ooooooo....looks so good! I would prefer buttons though...not crazy about shitake.

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    1. Yes by all means use buttons. I couldn't get find them that weekend so added some shitake in.

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  6. The stew tasted perfect, so tender and melt in the mouth :)

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  7. Hi Yen,
    I can see that your family really loves beef! This looks delicious, and would be perfect with some crusty French bread too!

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    Replies
    1. Haha yes! We're carnivores! Love our steaks and beef stews :)

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  8. that Beef Burguignon looks really good! I love beef but too bad it's quite expensive in msia :(

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    Replies
    1. Depends what cut you get. For stews, you can use cheaper cuts since you braise it for a long time.

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  9. That beef bourguignon looks absolutely scrumptious ! The fork tender texture is just wonderful :D Those photos makes me salivate *sigh* ;D

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    1. Thanks Anne!! Not licking the screen today? :P

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  10. ooooh, love! this is one of my favorite traditional french recipes. it's my idea of comfort food that really satisfies :D

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    Replies
    1. It's high on my list of favorite beef stews too :)

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  11. Yen, your beef stew looks delicious! I must cook it too. Interesting that you put shitake mushrooms. I should do that too because I have one box from CNY.

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    Replies
    1. I couldn't get button mushrooms, so I improvised. :) However original recipe also didn't state what sort of mushrooms to use, so just use any type that I like eating :D

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  12. Replies
    1. Thanks Mich, hard not to have several helpings of this.

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  13. What an interesting idea serving it as a steak-actually it's brilliant and I can see how tasty it would be with really soft meat :D

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    1. For those ppl who like steaks but cant afford to eat it all the time cos of the cost, I feel stews are a pretty good compromise.

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  14. Wow, this dish looks very delicious! Anything that is stewed so long must be soft and yummy! Drools! (*^o^*)

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  15. Hi Yen! A very hearty meal indeed!

    There are many variations but a bowl of warm homemade stew beef is always the best! I'm sure your family enjoyed this very much!

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    Replies
    1. I compared this recipe to another one in a French cookbook tht I have, and they are pretty similar. I've seen carrots in some other online recipes.

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  16. Hi Yen,

    Sorry for my visit as I had to go back to Singapore last minute for personal matters...

    Love your presentation for this dish. Very delicious and very pretty.

    Zoe

    ReplyDelete

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